| “ | I will not wear a crown of gold in the city where Our Lord Jesus Christ wore a crown of thorns.
— Godfrey of Bouillon
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” |
Godfrey of Bouillon was a Frankish knight and one of the primary leaders of the crusader army in the First Crusade. Following the Crusade's conclusion at the Siege of Jerusalem in 1099, Godfrey became the first ruler of the newly-established Kingdom of Jerusalem. He refused the title of "king", as he believed the only king of Jerusalem was Jesus Christ. Instead, he preferred the title of "Defender of the Holy Sepulchre".
Godfrey was born in the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, part of the Holy Roman Empire. His uncle died when Godfrey was sixteen, and Godfrey inherited his ownership of the Duchy of Lower Lorraine, a strategically important territory. The German king, Henry IV, was unwilling to leave such a significant territory in the hands of someone so young, so he confiscated the Duchy and instead granted Godfrey the less-important territories of Bouillon and the Margraviate of Antwerp.
Godfrey quickly made many enemies, who made claims on Godfrey's territories and sought to conquer them, but Godfrey defeated them all. Having proved himself to be a competent and loyal ruler, Godfrey again received Lower Lorraine from Henry.
In 1095, Pope Urban II called a Crusade to aid the Byzantine Empire, which was under Muslim attack, and to return Jerusalem to Christian rule. Godfrey took out loans on much of his property, and used the money to raise an army. Alongside many other noblemen who did the same, Godfrey marched his army to the Holy Land.
The crusaders won several significant victories against the Muslim Seljuk Turks, establishing many crusader kingdoms and recapturing lost Byzantine land. With the Turks defeated, some of the crusader leaders hesitated to move on Jerusalem and against their new Muslim enemy, the Fatimid Caliphate. However, the zealotry of the commoners in the crusader armies eventually pushed them to begin the march towards the ultimate prize of the Crusade.
A month-long siege of Jerusalem began upon the crusaders' arrival. The crusaders used every resource at their disposal to construct two siege towers, and when finally ready, they launched an all-out assault on the walls. When the Fatimid defenses finally gave in, Godfrey was among the first of the crusaders to enter the city, and begin the massacre of the defenders that followed.
After sealing his victory over the Fatimids, Godfrey was made ruler of Jerusalem. He died the following year, and was succeeded by his brother, Baldwin I, who, unlike his predecessor, accepted the title of "King of Jerusalem".
Battle vs. Vlad the Impaler (by Impaler5150)[]
Vlad attempts to kill Godfrey so he could take over the Crusades, But Godfrey survives and pursues Vlad. Vlad hides behind a tree and fires the already loaded crossbow at Godfrey, but missed. Godfrey fires his crossbow, hitting Vlad in his left arm. Godfrey snatches his halberd and pursues Vlad, who now has his halberd and they dueled. With neither gaining an edge, Godfrey kicks Vlad away, with Vlad retreating once again. Vlad sheathes his kilij while Godfrey sheathes his longsword. Both men parry before wounding each other. Godfrey thrusts, but misses, then Vlad slashes, but does not inflict damage. Godfrey grabs his knightstar and swings it at Vlad. Vlad collapses to the ground, but Vlad grabs his hand cannon from behind the tree and swings it, catching Godfrey in his calf. Godfrey, being wounded, tried to run, but Vlad shoots him in his right arm. Godfrey collapses, knowing he was defeated, tries to convince Vlad to repent. Vlad, laughs sadistically, then impales Godfrey.
Expert's Opinion[]
Vlad won due the advancement in technology, his armor was better, and his hand cannonthe more superior long range weapon.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. John Hunyadi (by Ssdmarista)[]
Hunyadi and 4 of his men were patroling when suddenly they see 5 men coming from the east they were Godfrey of Bouillon and his 4 men who were coming from the holyland to Europe.Hunyadi ordered his men to pull out the handcannons once Hunyadi orderd them to fire they unleashed a volley of bullets witch kills one of Godfrey's men Godfrey orders his men to dismount and they took cover with crossbows one crossbowman kills one of Hunyadi's men with a headshot and Hunyadi orders a retreat Godfrey and his men chase after them witch led into one of Godfrey's men to start a swordfight with one of Hunyadi's men who he wins by slicing the Hungarian's hand and cutting his head off another one of Hunyadi's men shoots a round with his handcannon at him witch causes him to collapse only to be finished by being bruttaly killed with a Hungarian axe by the same man that shot him the last 2 of Godfrey's men now armed with Halberds charge towards Hunyadi the axeman tries to stop them but he gets killed Hunyadi is almost killed by a Helberdier but he kicks him stunning him enough time to take his Halberd throw it away and later finish him with a decapitation from his sword meanwhile Godfrey kills Hunyadi's last man by stabbing him in the stomach with his sword Godfrey's last men tries to succed where the other failed but he gets his leg cut off and is stabbed to death by Hunyadi then the great duel begun both warriors charge at each other with their swords the swords clash and clash while the 2 warriors also punch and kick each other Godfrey tries to trip Hunyadi but he saw that coming and avoided it only for him to headbutt Godfrey and trip him later finishing him with a bruttal swing from his blade Hunyadi seeing his opponent dead raises his sword in the air and yells: en gyoztes!(I am victorious in Hungarian)
Winner:John Hunyadi
Expert's Opinion[]
Even tough Godfrey was an experienced fighter he was really technologically impaired compared to Hunyadi who had gun powder based weaponry not only that but Hunyadi's training was way superior to his.